Lev 17:13 “Any one also of the people of Israel, or of the foreign guests who are temporary residents among them, who takes in hunting any beast or bird that may be eaten will pour out its blood and cover it with land.
Lev 17:14 Because the soul within everyone’s skin is its blood: its blood is its soul. Therefore, I have said to the people of Israel, you will not eat the blood of any creature, because the soul within everyone’s skin is its blood. Whoever eats it will be eliminated.
Lev 17:15 And every soul who eats what dies of itself or what is torn by beasts, whether he is a native or a temporary resident, will wash his clothes and bathe himself in water and be contaminated until the evening; then he will be clean.
Lev 17:16 But if he does not wash them or bathe his body, he will be responsible for his violation.”

respect for animal life

Even for animals killed for food, there were regulations as to how to show proper respect for the loss of life. All of the life forms that God has given to us on earth are precious to him, and should not be taken lightly, or regarded as objects for us to dispose of as we we will for our own amusement.

LORD, thank you for the blessing of the other lives all around us. Show us how to regard these lives as a gift, and respect them as part of your creation which we are responsible to you for.